马龙探案卷四 之 正确的凶案 三十三
“这是我见过的最漂亮的自卫案例。”马龙说。
“As pretty a case of self-defense as I ever saw,” malone said.
“在你看来总是这样。”冯·弗拉纳根说。
“According to you, it always is,” von Flanagan said.
马龙叹了口气。“如果你仔细想想，所有的谋杀都是一种自卫形式。但在这种情况下——我觉得毫无疑问。我们所有人”——他做了一个大幅度的手势，把莫娜·麦克莱恩客厅里的每个人都包括在内——“都看到是他先向她开枪的。”
malone sighed. “All murder is a form of self-defense, if you’ll stop to think about it. but in this case—I don’t think there’s any possible doubt. All of us”—he made a sweeping gesture that included everyone in mona mcclane’s living room—“saw him shoot at her first.”
“他的子弹把我的永久卷发弄乱了。”海伦抱怨地说。
“his bullet bent my permanent wave the wrong way,” helene said plainingly.
那个警察怀疑地抿了一口莫娜·麦克莱恩的女仆给他的饮料。“尽管如此，我还是想知道麦克莱恩夫人是不是总是在衣服口袋里放着一把枪，或者这是不是某种特殊场合才这样。”
the police officer sipped suspiciously at the drink mona mcclane’s maid had offered him. “Just the same, I’d like to know if mrs. mcclane always carries a gun around in her dress pocket, or if this was some kind of special occasion.”
“只有当她穿有口袋的衣服时才这样。”马龙厉声说，“通常她把枪塞在长筒袜里。”他伸手去拿雪茄。“讲点道理。你已经把整个案子都弄清楚了。你还想要什么，新闻影片和米老鼠吗？如果你的一个房客被谋杀了，另一个差点也被杀了，你可能也会紧张到带把枪。”
“only when she wears a dress with pockets,” malone snapped. “Usually she tucks it into her stocking.” he reached for a cigar. “be reasonable. You’ve got the whole case cleared up. what the hell more do you want, a news-reel and mickey mouse? You might be nervous enough to pack a gun too, if one of your house guests had been murdered and another damn near it.”
“我只是问问。”冯·弗拉纳根嘟囔着。“这个文宁家伙有那么多钱，为什么还要去杀人呢？”
“I was only asking,” von Flanagan grumbled. “what did this Venning guy want to go murdering people for, with all the dough he had?”
“钱不是谋杀的唯一理由。”马龙说。
“money isn’t the only reason for murder,” malone said.
“不，但这是我知道的最好的理由。”警察说，“该死——对不起，麦克莱恩夫人——不管怎么说，这到底是怎么回事，马龙？”
“No, but it’s the best one I know,” the police officer said. “what the hell—pardon me, mrs. mcclane—what’s it all about, anyway, malone?”
“文宁在东方卷入了一些麻烦事。”律师快速地说，“是这样吧，文宁夫人？是的，我想是这样。你知道的，冯·弗拉纳根。热带地区对一些人的影响。图伊兹兄弟发现了这件事，然后就勒索他。”
“Venning got into some shenanigans in the orient,” the lawyer said rapidly. “that’s right, isn’t it, mrs. Venning? Yes, I thought so. You know, von Flanagan. the effect the tropics have on some people. the tuesday brothers got onto it, and were blackmailing him.”
海伦偷偷看了一眼伊迪莎·文宁。她脸色苍白，但非常镇定。她眼睛里闪烁的光芒消失了。
helene stole a glance at Editha Venning. She was pale, but perfectly posed. the glittering light had gone from her eyes.
“在新年前夜，”马龙继续说，“文宁在谢尔曼酒店的圆顶餐厅看到了两兄弟中的弟弟。他觉得新年的时候，反正每个人都有点晕乎乎的，会是个杀人的好时机。所以他离开了派对一小会儿——我说得对吗，麦克莱恩夫人？”
“on New Year’s Eve,” malone went on, “Venning spotted the younger of the two in the dome at the Sherman hotel. he figured that New Year’s, with everybody a little hazy anyway, would be a swell time for a homicide. So he left the party for a short time—am I correct about that, mrs. mcclane?”
莫娜·麦克莱恩点点头说：“是的。大概有半个小时左右。当然，在那样的派对上，你不会太留意——人们随意地离开又回来。但他确实离开了那么久。他在十二点的哨声响起的时候刚好回来。”
mona mcclane nodded and said, “Yes. For half an hour or so. of course, in a party like that, you don’t pay much attention—people wander away and e back pretty much as they want to. but he was gone about that long. he got back just as the twelve o’clock whistles blew.”
“那就对了。”马龙说。“文宁在十一点半左右在圆顶餐厅看到了这个人。那可不是个安静地杀人的好地方，所以他跟踪他去了两三个其他的酒吧，最后在某个小巷里追上了他——我们永远也不会确切知道是在哪里——用刀刺了他，擦掉刀上的血，把刀插回他的牛仔裤里，然后像没事人一样回到了黑豹厅。他没想到这个人这么顽强，背上有个洞还能走一两个街区。”
“that would make it,” malone said. “Venning spotted this guy in the dome about eleven-thirty. that was no place for a nice quiet stabbing, so he trailed him to two or three other bars and finally caught up with him in an alley somewhere—we’ll never know exactly where it was—ran a knife into him, wiped off the knife, stuck it back in his jeans, and returned to the panther Room as good as new. he couldn’t have figured the guy would be tough enough to walk a block or two with a hole in his back.”
他停下来点燃雪茄，看到冯·弗拉纳根的眼睛里开始露出若有所思的神情，于是快速地说。
he paused to light his cigar, observed a thoughtful look beginning to form in von Flanagan’s eyes, and spoke rapidly.
“图伊兹被刺的时候可能倒下了然后又站了起来。你记得吧，他的膝盖和肘部有泥。他倒下的时候，文宁在他的口袋里翻找有罪的文件。他时间不多，就把所有东西都拿走了。这就是为什么尸体被发现的时候没有身份证明。”
“tuesday probably fell when he was stabbed and got up again. there was mud on his knees and elbows, you remember. while he was down, Venning went through his pockets for incriminating papers. he didn’t have much time and just carried away everything. that’s why there was no identification on the body when it was found.”
警察眼里的沉思神情越来越深。
the thoughtful look was deepening in the police officer’s eyes.
“然后，”马龙继续说，不敢停下来喘口气，“另一个图伊兹通过以前和莫娜·麦克莱恩的相识设法得到了来这里的邀请。文宁发现他搬到这里来一定大吃一惊，但他没有浪费任何时间。图伊兹在这里只待了几个小时就被谋杀了。”
“then,” malone went on, not daring to pause for breath, “the other tuesday wangled an invitation to mona mcclane’s through a previous acquaintance with her. It must have been a nasty shock to Venning to find him moved in here, but he didn’t lose any time. tuesday had only been here a few hours when he succeeded in getting himself murdered.”
不管冯·弗拉纳根一直在想什么，他都忘了。“但是听着，”他气愤地说，“那个人被谋杀的时候文宁在外面散步。你自己听到他进来的。”
whatever von Flanagan had been thinking about, he forgot it. “but look here,” he said indignantly, “Venning was out walking when that guy was murdered. You heard him e in yourself.”
每个人都满怀希望地看着马龙。
Everyone looked hopefully at malone.
“我听到的是他第二次进来。”马龙说，用手指转动着雪茄。他转向伊迪莎·文宁。“你们在外面的时候他离开过你几分钟，对吗？”
“I heard him e in the second time,” malone said, rolling his cigar in his fingers. he turned to Editha Venning. “he left you for a few minutes while you were outside, didn’t he?”
她点点头。“就在我们进来之前。他想去药店买点东西，所以我在拐角处等他。”
She nodded. “Just before we came in. he wanted to run up to the drugstore for something, so I waited for him on the corner.”
“他没去药店。”马龙告诉她，“他回到这里，用莫娜·麦克莱恩给所有客人的房子钥匙从侧门进来，上了楼，谋杀了第二个图伊兹，又从侧门出去，遇到了你，然后和你一起回到房子里。那时候你们被雨淋湿了。那场突然的雨下来的时候你在外面等他。你的外套毁了——我听到莫娜·麦克莱恩提到过。但他一点都没被淋湿。他走进房间的时候还没摘下帽子和外套——他帽子上的羽毛就是个明显的证据。它甚至都没湿。”
“he didn’t go to the drugstore,” malone told her. “he came back here, entered by the side door with the house key mona mcclane gives all her guests, went up the stairs, murdered the second tuesday, went out again by the side door, met you, and came back to the house again with you. that’s when you were caught in the rain. You were outside waiting for him when that sudden rainfall came down. Your coat was ruined—I heard mona mcclane speaking of it. but he didn’t get rained on at all. he walked into the room before taking off his hat and coat—and the feather in his hat was a dead giveaway. It wasn’t even moist.”
他转向冯·弗拉纳根。“那场雨是在图伊兹可能被杀害的唯一时间下起来的，”他说，“在海伦经过他的门看到他还活着，和我们都上楼发现他死了之间。我和气象局核对了时间。”
he turned to von Flanagan. “that rainfall came down during the only time tuesday could have been killed,” he said. “between the time when helene went past his door and saw him alive and when we all went upstairs and found him dead. I checked the time with the weather bureau.”
杰克突然说：“哦，这就是你那天晚上给气象局打电话的时候在做的事。我还以为你疯了。”
Jake said suddenly, “oh, that’s what you were doing when you called up the weather bureau that night. I thought you’d lost your mind.”
马龙哼了一声。“你本可以对我多一点信心的。”他生硬地说。
malone sniffed. “You might have had a little more confidence in me,” he said stiffly.
“但是他为什么要谋杀这个麦克劳林呢？”冯·弗拉纳根突然问道，“这和那件事有什么关系？”
“but why did he try to murder this mcLaurin?” von Flanagan demanded suddenly. “where does that fit in?”
“他害怕麦克劳林可能在第二个图伊兹被谋杀的那个下午看到他上楼了，”马龙说，“他不能确定，但他不想冒险。”
“he was afraid mcLaurin might have seen him e upstairs the afternoon of the second murder,” malone said. “he couldn’t know for sure, but he wasn’t taking any chances.”
冯·弗拉纳根摇了摇头。“他简直就是一个人的犯罪浪潮。”突然他想起了寡妇在场，他的脸色变得严肃起来，用尊敬的语气说：“对不起，文宁夫人。”
Von Flanagan shook his head. “he was a regular one-man crime wave.” Suddenly he remembered the presence of the widow, his face sobered, and he said, “pardon me, mrs. Venning,” in a respectful tone.
“嗯，一个勒索者通常罪有应得。勒索——如果你问我的意见——那是犯罪！”
“well, a blackmailer usually deserves the worst he can get. blackmail—if you ask my opinion—that’s criminal!”
“谋杀也是，从某种程度上来说。”马龙低声说。
“So is murder,” malone murmured, “in its way.”
警察要么没听见要么没理他。“还有一件事。文宁夫人。这些人勒索你的丈夫什么呢？他做了什么？”
the police officer either didn’t hear or ignored him. “one thing more. mrs. Venning. what were these men blackmailing your husband about? what had he been up to?”
房间里有一阵令人焦虑的沉默。
there was a moment’s anxious silence in the room.
伊迪莎·文宁的大眼睛变得阴暗。她的嘴唇颤抖着。“这是——真的，只是通常那种事。东方——女人——”她咬着嘴唇。“鸦片——哦，求你了，能不能忘了这件事？文宁这个名字很——有名——真的没有必要——把所有这些都公之于众——”
Editha Venning’s immense eyes grew shadowy. her lips quivered. “It was—really, just the usual sort of thing. the orient—women—” She bit her lip. “opium—oh please, can’t it be forgotten? the Venning name is so—well known—there really isn’t any use in—dragging all that up for the public—”
马龙感谢上天赐予一个思维敏捷的女人，然后说：“她说得对，冯·弗拉纳根。这是一起谋杀案，不是勒索案。只要你知道是谁杀了那两个图伊兹，案子就结了。就让睡着的狗继续躺着吧。”在冯·弗拉纳根说话之前，他又补充道：“文宁试图保护他的妻子。他甚至雇了一个保镖来让这些人远离她。对吗，卢·怀特？”
malone thanked heaven for a woman who could think fast, and said, “She’s right, von Flanagan. this is a murder case, not blackmail. As long as you know who killed the two tuesdays, the case is closed. Let’s just let lying dogs sleep.” before von Flanagan could say anything, he added, “Venning tried to protect his wife. he even hired a bodyguard to keep these men away from her. that’s correct isn’t it, Lou white?”
那个穿着有点紧的灰色西装的魁梧男人与马龙对视了一会儿。“是的，”他说，“没错。”
the burly man in the rather tight gray suit met malone’s eyes for an instant. “Yes,” he said. “that’s right.”
“你明白了吧？”马龙对警察说，“如果你不相信我，你有卢·怀特的话为证，他是纽约州有执照的私家侦探。”他看到冯·弗拉纳根的眼睛里又开始露出沉思的神情，便赶紧说：“你应该非常感激麦克莱恩夫人。如果不是她，你现在就得出去追捕凶手，你的手下很有可能会遭到枪击。”
“You see?” malone said to the police officer. “If you don’t believe me, you have Lou white’s word for it, and he’s a licensed private detective of the state of New York.” he saw the thoughtful look beginning to form again in von Flanagan’s eyes and said quickly, “You owe a great debt of gratitude to mrs. mcclane. If it wasn’t for her, you’d be out chasing a murderer right now, with a good chance of having pot shots taken at the men on your staff.”
警察突然笑了起来。“我非常感激，夫人。我在想——外面有一群记者在等着——你是否介意和我一起拍张照片——也许可以让我看看你用来射击的枪……”
the police officer beamed suddenly. “I’m sure grateful, ma’am. And I wonder—there’s a bunch of newspaper guys waiting outside—if you would mind having your picture taken with me—maybe showing me the gun you done it with—”
“我很乐意。”莫娜·麦克莱恩优雅地应对着这个场合，说道，“当然可以，把记者们都请进来吧。”
“I’d be delighted,” mona mcclane said, rising to the occasion. “by all means, let’s have in the press.”
这时，彭德利·泰德韦尔像一条从魔术师篮子里钻出来的蛇一样，从房间后面的大椅子上舒展开身体。“如果要拍照的话……”他满怀希望地开口说道。
At that, pendley tidewell uncoiled himself from the big chair in the back of the room like a serpent ing out of a magician’s basket. “If there’s going to be any pictures taken—” he began hopefully.
自从十二年前莫娜·麦克莱恩竞选国会议员（但没有成功）以来，湖滨大道上的老麦克莱恩大厦还从未同时出现过这么多摄影师。
the old mcclane mansion on Lake Shore drive hadn’t seen so many photographers together since the time twelve years ago when mona mcclane had run (unsuccessfully) for congress.
当所有的兴奋都过去之后，冯·弗拉纳根是最后一个离开的。在过去的五分钟里，他的脸上一直带着困惑的皱眉，好像他在努力回忆一件被他忘记的事情。
when the excitement was all over, von Flanagan was the last to leave. there had been a puzzled frown on his face for the past five minutes, as though he were trying hard to remember something that had slipped his mind.
“当然，你们都得在审讯时出庭。”他心不在焉地说。有一会儿他沉默不语，揉着一只耳朵。然后他突然狠狠地瞪着马龙。
“You’ll all have to appear at the inquest, of course,” he said in a faraway tone. For a moment he was silent, rubbing one ear. then suddenly he scowled heavily at malone.
“那很好，”他气愤地说，“但你还是没告诉我那个人那天晚上走进天使乔的酒吧然后倒地身亡的时候为什么在找你。”
“that’s all very well,” he said indignantly, “but you still haven’t told me why that guy was looking for you the night he came into Joe the Angel’s bar and fell over dead.”
“哦，那个呀，”小律师说，好像那是件无足轻重的事，他都给忘了。“一开始，文宁决定和图伊兹兄弟交涉。他想让我代表他，并且也跟他们这么说了。除了和文宁家族产业有关的律师，他不认识芝加哥的其他律师，而麦克莱恩夫人提到过我。”他停下来重新点着雪茄。
“oh, that,” the little lawyer said, as though it was so unimportant he had forgotten it. “At first, Venning decided to deal with the tuesdays. he intended to have me act for him, and told them so. he didn’t know any chicago lawyers except those connected with the Venning estate, and mrs. mcclane had mentioned me.” he paused to relight his cigar.
“第一个图伊兹不想浪费时间开始谈判，所以他决定亲自来找我，把事情推动起来。他打听出我常去哪些酒吧，然后就出去找我。文宁就在这过程中遇到了他。这就是为什么文宁知道他必须马上行动，事实上就是那个晚上。”
“the first tuesday didn’t want to lose any time getting negotiations under way, so he decided to look me up himself and start the ball rolling. he found out what bars I usually frequent, and went out hunting for me. Venning ran into him in the midst of it. that’s why Venning knew he had to act fast, that very night, in fact.”
冯·弗拉纳根想了几分钟才说：“哦。”
Von Flanagan thought that over for a few minutes before he said, “oh.”
他走后，房间里安静了一会儿。最后马龙摇了摇头。“我什么都想到了。我不知道我是怎么做到的。”突然他对卢·怀特咧嘴一笑。“你戴着假发的时候我更喜欢你。你到底是在哪儿学会织毛衣的？”
After he had gone, the room was quiet for a little while. At last malone shook his head. “I think of everything. I don’t know how I do it.” Suddenly he grinned at Lou white. “I liked you better with the wig on. where the hell did you ever learn to knit?”
那个矮壮、秃顶的男人怒视着他。“我这辈子从没这么不喜欢一份工作。相信我，当女仆把你的纸条拿给我的时候，我很高兴，上面说游戏结束了，我最好换回我平常的衣服。”
the stocky, bald-headed man glared at him. “I never liked a job less in my life. believe me, I was glad when the maid brought your note up to me, saying the game was up and I’d better switch back to my regular clothes.”
海伦伸手握住杰克的手，紧紧地握着。
helene reached for Jake’s hand and held it tight.
伊迪莎·文宁出人意料地站了起来。“但他相信了这一切！他相信了每一个字！”
Editha Venning rose to her feet unexpectedly. “but he believed all that! he believed every word of it!”
“当然，”马龙说，“事情会这样记录在案。官方来说，正义得到了伸张，案子也结了。”他停顿了一下，然后钦佩地补充道，“我可以轻而易举地骗过冯·弗拉纳根。”
“Sure,” malone said. “It’ll go down in the records that way. officially, justice has been done, and the case is closed.” he paused, and added admiringly, “I can twist my little finger around von Flanagan, just like that.”
她盯着他。“你为什么要这么做？”她深深地吸了一口气，几乎是在抽泣。“你为什么不告诉他真相？”
She stared at him. “what made you do it?” She drew a long, almost sobbing breath. “why didn’t you tell him the truth?”
马龙非常缓慢而慎重地放下他的雪茄。“然后让你失去五百万美元？”他的声音里既有愤怒又有怀疑。“那是不道德的！你以为你找的是什么样的律师？”
malone laid down his cigar very slowly and deliberately. “And do you out of five million bucks?” his voice was halfway between indignation and incredulity. “that would be unethical! what the hell kind of a lawyer do you think you’ve got?”